Hi there!
I hope you had a great week!
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Random Things Happening Behind the Scenes at Bricks ‘n Blooms
What a week it was!
I am gearing up for another blogging conference in two weeks in Atlanta, GA.
At this conference, I’m mentoring a group of bloggers and meeting up with lots of friends that I’ve met through this journey but haven’t hung out with them in person yet.
Should be a good time and I’ll share all the fun after the event.
Family Life
After spending the weekend in Vermont for July 4th without further incident on the boat, we regrouped with the girls back home for a patriotic barbeque.
Aside from that, it’s been a relatively quiet week.
In the Garden
The gardens are looking really good. I’ve got rose mallows growing in the bed along the driveway and they are HUGE!
If you’ve never grown rose mallow before, check out Summerific Hibiscus from Proven Winners. They have such an array of varieties and you can’t beat the size of the blooms!
The foliage is beyond beautiful too.
I noticed some holes in the leaves here and upon closer inspection, discovered Japanese beetles.
But even worse?
I found spotted lantern fly nymphs.
They are fast, do a lot of damage, and are difficult to control.
I’ve been knocking the Japanese beetles into soapy buckets for now to help control them and spraying the spotted lanternfly nymphs with insecticidal soap every few days to help control them.
If you’ve got tips for dealing with the lanternflies, let me know in the comments. In the last two years, the population is increasing and they are doing more and more damage to plants.
We also noticed a blue heron hanging around my neighbor’s pond.
Let’s hope Fred and Bob keep him out of the front pond until we can get it netted.
Gardening Tip!
Before we left for Vermont last weekend, I saw the little bunny that we saved literally mowing down my liatris flowers.
Seriously – it was just cutting the stalks down and that was it!
I immediately chased it away and ran to the garage to grab some scat mats I picked up a few months ago for this very reason.
To protect the flowers, I surrounded the plant with a few scat mats and the bunny has since left them alone!
Now it would be tough to do a large area unless you bought alot of mats…but it worked for a smaller area.
So if you’ve got some critters hanging around certain plants. I highly suggest these as a solution to protect them.
What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms
It was a fun week on the blog!
I’ve been busy behind the scenes working on something for the holidays. Can’t wait to update you all about it soon!
Speaking of Japanese beetles earlier, the best way to control them in the garden is with a long-term approach to lawn care that is organic.
Check out this gardening tip that will help control Japanese beetles in the garden.
You’re probably thinking how does the lawn have anything to do with beetles in the garden – but it does.
Check out the post to learn why.
I also shared my DIY centerpiece with flowers and pineapples from my summer dinner party with friends.
It’s easy to make and you can’t beat the aroma of the fruit and flowers at the table.
I also joined a group of blogging friends to share some porch decorating and entertaining ideas for summer that you can’t miss.
Wait until you see my tip for keeping bugs away from the porch!
And finally, I shared a tour of a small cottage garden near the front porch that looks so pretty right now!
My snapdragon and larkspur seedlings are blooming and I’ve been making a lot of arrangements for my family and friends.
Wait until you see how beautiful the flowers look!
Watch it HERE.
Amazing Inspiration from Around the Web
I love finding cool inspiration from around the web and wanted to share some of what I’m loving right now.
My good friend Kim from Cottage in the Mitten shared some easy porch decorating ideas and her superwave petunia planter totally caught my eye!
Look at this gorgeous container garden!!!
My good friend Mary from Life at Bella Terra gave this antique sofa a makeover and it looks AMAZING!
I am planning to reupholster my dining room chairs so this post resonated with me.
Wait until you see what it looks like now!
And here is some more inspiration you’ve got to see!
I definately want to visit this vintage bazaar next time it comes around in New England.
This homemade coleslaw recipe.
These coastal Maine patriotic decorating ideas.
These cottage style bedroom ideas.
This DIY serving tray update.
This summer formal living room tour. Love it!!!
This patriotic porch.
These hardwood floor cleaning tips.
This painting a bookshelf project.
This small basement kitchenette reveal.
Thank you so much for following along.
Enjoy a beautiful day! xo
